Computer Solutions: Visual Estimating

As an instructor of construction cost
estimating, I've looked at 30 or 40
computer estimating packages over the
last few years. Recently, I encountered a
new product called CAD Estimator,
developed by a former framing contractor.
It caught my eye for two reasons:
First, it takes a "visual" approach to cost
estimating, which makes it easy to tell
when you've left something out; and
second, it produces material lists good
enough to take to a lumberyard.
CAD Estimator's chief feature is its
graphical interface, which is similar to a
digitizer, except that it works not with
paper drawings but with images that
have been loaded into the computer.
These can be CAD files, or photographs
of a building